Story:Star Trek - Infinity/Chapter 6
---- I sat beside Nicky’s bed. It had been two weeks since our accidental entry into the Beta Quadrant. Nicky had greatly improved since her accident in the science lab, and was well on her way to recovering. According to Dr. Layn, it would be safe to wake her in the next 26 hours. My head shot up as I heard the distinct sound of a heart rate monitor flatlining. My eyes flicked to Nicky’s monitor; it was still registering a steady pulse. It was then that I realized it was Tabora’s monitor that had registered a heart failure. I scrambled to my feet and shouted, “Dr. Layn! Come quickly!” Dr. Layn and Nurse Amia came rushing out of Layn’s Office. The Doctor moved in and shouted to Amia, “20 milligrams of Lectrazine!” The Bajoran Nurse handed her a hypospray filled with a blue liquid, and Dr. Layn injected it into Tabora’s neck. Nothing happened. “Pulse stimulator, 50%!” Tabora’s body convulsed as the stimulator shocked her. Still no change. “70%!” Her body jerked again, but her heart still remained dead. Layn set down the hypospray, and sadly said, “Computer, make a note in Lieutenant Tabora’s log. Death occurred at 1641 hours.” I just sat there, stunned. My teacher had just died, before my very own eyes. She was supposed to be home right now, with her family, not laying here dead in the Beta Quadrant. A tear slipped from my eye; was she just the first of many to die here, so hopelessly far from home? ---- At 1900 hours, Chief Todd came into sickbay and told me that Commander Chekov wanted to see me. I dejectedly followed her to the turbolift, and tried to put on a straight face, rather than allow my true emotions show. We exited the turbolift, and headed for the captain’s ready room. As we entered, Chekov stood up from his desk and greeted us. I spoke in a quiet voice, “Lieutenant Tabora passed away a while ago.” He replied, his voice solemn, “Yes, I know.” We paused for a moment, and then the commander said, “Tomorrow, you will be taking Ensign Syln in a shuttle to visit a nearby inhabited planet.” He also added, “Cadets Denarchia, Gro’kog, and Hollow will be joining you.” I nodded, and left the room. I headed to the mess hall to catch a late dinner, and then took a sonic shower. As I slipped into my nightgown, I found myself once again thinking about Tabora’s death. Without a teacher, how was I going to finish my courses? I silently cursed at myself for being so selfish. It didn’t matter whether or not I finished my classes; a woman had died. A woman with a family; a family that wouldn’t even know she was gone. I laid my head down on my pillow, and silently grieved, hoping that her death would be the last before we were able to find our way home. ---- I awoke with a start to the sound of something whistling in my ear. I turned and looked into the darkness as a voice said, “Destiny, there’s someone who’d like to see you.” My eyes widened as I replied, “Is it Nicky? Is she awake?” The voice responded, “Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” I threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. I headed down the hall in a brisk trot, still wearing my nightgown as I followed Nurse Amia to the turbolift. As we stepped into sickbay, I spotted her sitting upright in her bed, her blue eyes open wide. I rushed over and hugged her as I shouted, “Nicky!” She smiled. “Hey Des.” “I’m so glad you’re awake.” She grinned. “Me too, I was having this awful nightmare. I was being chased by a Klingon Targ, and he was trying to make me take a calculus test!” We laughed for a moment, and then Nicky said, “Ensign Amia told me that you stayed with me while I was in my coma. I just wanted to say thank you.” I replied, “Of course! I couldn’t just leave you here all alone. And I know you would’ve done the same for me.” She grinned. “Doctor Layn says I’ll be up and fully recovered by the time you get back.” I cheered, “That’s wonderful!” She replied, “And as soon as you do get back, we’re going to take some time hanging out in the holodeck together.” I nodded, “Of course!” Chief Todd poked her head through sickbay’s entrance. “Good to see you’re recovering Miss Crusher.” She turned to me and added, “Destiny, the science team is waiting for you in the shuttlebay.” I quickly hugged Nicky one last time, and headed for the exit, waving as I left. I hurriedly returned to my quarters to change into my uniform, and then headed towards the shuttlebay. I entered the shuttlebay hangar, and found Ensign Syln and the others waiting for me. I apologized for being late, but the ensign didn’t seem to mind. As we exited the shuttlebay and shot to warp, Syln turned to us. “Alright everyone; this is our first contact with a warp-capable species since we entered the Beta Quadrant. I want you all to be on your best behavior. I don’t want any of the natives provoked. We are going there to make peace and to try and learn about where we are.” ---- The shuttle slowed as we slipped out of warp beside a tan and brown planet. The ensign put on his biggest smile and activated the shuttle’s hailing frequency. “Greetings! We are from the planet earth, of the Alpha Quadrant! We seek to make friends with your kind!” A moment later, a voice replied, “We welcome you, creatures of earth, to the trading outpost of Guandi Talek. Do you seek to meet with the High Minister?” Syln smiled. “Yes we would, thank you. Where might we find this High Minister?” The voice replied, “I have sent you the coordinates to our market; I will meet you there.” A set of coordinates appeared on the main viewer, and the ensign entered them into the transporter. He turned to Gro’kog. “Cadet, I’m going to have you stay here and guard the shuttle, just in case.” The Klingon nodded, and the rest of us beamed down two-by-two. As the four of us materialized on the surface, my jaw immediately dropped at what I saw. We stood just outside a massive gateway, barring the path to a city. The doors were intricately designed with beautiful patterns that laced through it, making it almost seem bigger than it really was. Slowly, the gates opened, and a man emerged. He looked similar to an Andorian, except his skin was a deep purple, and he had only a single antenna protruding from his head. He placed a finger on his nose and bowed, and we politely repeated the gesture; I could only assume it was some form of greeting. “Welcome to the Guandi Talek trading outpost. I am San Marrel, assistant to the High Minister.” Syln replied, “I am Mathias Syln, of earth, and these are my students.” San motioned for us to follow him, and the five of us stepped through the gateway and into the city. The interior was even more stunning than the outside. In front of us was a marketplace bustling with activity, and cutting through the middle of it was a long straight road with archways curving over it. I could see several homes built into the arches, an ingenious distribution of weight so that it didn’t collapse on the road below. San pointed to a large building at the end of the pathway. “That is the High Minister’s house.” He led us down the long path, and as we walked, several merchants rushed up to us, making offers to sell or trade us items. At one point, a shadily dressed man tried to sneak up and take Denarchia’s combadge. The instant the man’s fingers made contact with the gold-plating of the communicator; Denarchia grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto his back. The man let out a shriek of surprise as Denarchia hissed, “Hands off, you little thief.” He quickly exclaimed, “I apologize madam. I think you must’ve misunderstood; I was merely trying to estimate its value, so I could make a fair trade with you.” She growled, “Sorry, it’s not for sale.” The ensign cut in, “Cadet! I told you not to provoke anyone!” San stepped in. “No, the lady is quite right. This man is the lowliest of pick-pockets. Get out now, before I have the guards throw you out!” The man scrambled away, glancing back over his shoulder a few times to see if we were following him. San sighed, “My most sincere apologies for that. Even our wonderful city of Guandi Talek has a few criminals here and there.” Syln replied, “It’s quite alright.” We soon reached the entrance to the High Minister’s house, and walked up the steps to the front door. San gave the door three rough knocks, and a guard came and opened it. We stepped inside, and I was once again treated to the city’s beautiful architectural splendor. A massive jeweled chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the walls were decorated with the finest of refined metals and woods. San led us up a set of stairs coated with what appeared to be pure silver, and we entered a large room at the top of the stairway. A finely-dressed man with the same purple complexion as San stood up and bowed while touching his nose. “Welcome to our fair city; I am High Minister Bartell.” We bowed once more, and Syln said, “Greetings Minister; we are of earth, a planet in the Alpha Quadrant. Our ship was accidentally thrown through a wormhole, and we have found ourselves lost and far from our home. We seek any knowledge you may be able to offer in helping us return to our home more quickly.” The Minister smiled. “But of course. I would be happy to offer my assistance-and while we discuss this, your students may explore the city. San will provide you all with proper clothing for this weather, and enough money to sample some of the things the market has to offer.” Syln replied, “You are too kind, good sir.” Minister Bartell answered, “It would be impolite not to allow you to explore the things that our fair city has to offer.” Mathias and the Minister began to discuss the best and fastest travel routes, and San gave all of us lightly colored tunics and hoods. It was a great relief; my dark hair and uniform had been attracting the sunlight that burned down on the city, and it had started to become almost unbearable. We were also each given twenty Decimonds, the most widely accepted currency in the market. San also told us that whenever a merchant made an offer, to never settle for anything above half of that amount. The three of us walked down the path, listening to and occasionally accepting deals made by several merchants. A young man came up to me and gave me what looked like some sort of fruit, saying that I could have it for free, because seeing my awe-inspiring beauty was payment enough. I blushed and kindly accepted it, and was quite surprised when he kissed my cheek several times. I later asked San about this, and learned that when anything in the market was accepted without charge, it was a sign that the receiver desired to become romantically involved with the giver. As we continued down the street, an elderly gray-haired man came up to us and introduced himself as Ublar, a professional magician. I was intrigued, so we stayed, and watched him perform many tricks. He made a strange furry blue animal appear from his hood, and made Denarchia’s combadge disappear. She pounced on him, but he simply chuckled as he made the communicator reappear in the palm of his hand. After he had finished, we turned to leave, but before we could the man came up behind me. “You are trying to return, are you not?” I nodded, and suddenly, his eyes grew large. “Beware of the creatures that take ships. Beware.” He scurried off, leaving me bewildered. I decided to disregard what he had said, and we continued roaming the marketplace. Soon, Ensign Syln and San found us, and said that it was time for us to go. As we said our goodbyes to San, and beamed back to the shuttle, I couldn’t help but wonder what the man could’ve possibly meant…